In the course of the examination of Internet resources, I came across a novel that piqued my interests: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. After also finding a wealth of resources to assist the creation of a "lesson" based around the book, I decided that it was the best choice of presenting the "pro-independence" view of the Revolutionary War, which is the side of the debate that the regular Language Arts classes would be taking in the mock-Continental Congress debate. After reading the novel and deciding to use the Glencoe Literature Library Study Guide, I created a rough sketch of how I wanted my lessons to progress:
Week One:
Present Author Information
Introduce Novel
Assign Chapters 1-5 (to be read in class each day by students and teacher—out loud and with sustained silent reading; any chapter not finished in class becomes nightly reading homework)
Examine worksheets, assign groups, and explain group discussion responsibilities
Assignment: Comparison/Contrast Essay on Johnny’s the usefulness and harm of Johnny’s pride
Week Two:
Assign Chapters 6-8 (to be read in class each day by students and teacher—out loud and with sustained silent reading; any chapter not finished in class becomes nightly reading homework)
Examine worksheets and review group discussion responsibilities
Assignment: Write a letter to a friend (as one of the characters) who lives outside of Boston. Describe the current political and social situation.
Week Three:
Assign Chapters 9-12 (to be read in class each day by students and teacher—out loud and with sustained silent reading; any chapter not finished in class becomes nightly reading homework )
Examine worksheets and review group discussion responsibilities
Assignment: Write a newspaper article for either the Boston Observer or a British newspaper about the battles of Lexington and Concord. Answer the 5 Ws and an H (who, what, when, where, why, and how). Consider your newspaper’s audience and write about what they would be interested, particularly their troops.
Kara's Lesson
In the course of the examination of Internet resources, I came across a novel that piqued my interests: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes. After also finding a wealth of resources to assist the creation of a "lesson" based around the book, I decided that it was the best choice of presenting the "pro-independence" view of the Revolutionary War, which is the side of the debate that the regular Language Arts classes would be taking in the mock-Continental Congress debate. After reading the novel and deciding to use the Glencoe Literature Library Study Guide, I created a rough sketch of how I wanted my lessons to progress:
Week One:
Week Two:
Week Three:
See Katie's Middle School Lesson Plan